James Milner backs Man City to make big impact in Champions League

RUN OF THE MIL: James Milner has high hopes for City's Champions League quest [AP]

City completed a remarkable escape from the group stages after beating Roma 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium last night.

Manuel Pellegrini's men had looked to be heading for elimination after collecting just two points from their opening four games in Group E but a dramatic win over Bayern Munich revived their chances.

Their hopes in Rome were hampered by the absences of Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure but they seized their opportunity and silenced a hostile crowd with second-half goals from Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta.

Milner said: "We will take it step by step but I definitely think the quality is there to go far in this competition.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but the more seasons we play in the Champions League, and the more games we play in it, the experience helps and we get better as a team."

City looked like being overrun in the early stages as Roma - and particularly Gervinho - tore into them.

But they withstood the pressure and Nasri put them on course for a famous victory with a stunning strike on the hour that flew in off the post.

Zabaleta finished the job four minutes from time after being teed up by Nasri.